“Do not let any calamity-­‐howling executive with an income of $1,000 a day … tell you … that a wage of $11 a week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry.” –Franklin Delano Roosevelt

This week the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards and our partner organizations are celebrating the 74th Anniversary of the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards is an alliance of consumer, small business, labor, scientific, research, good government, faith, community, health, environmental, and public interest groups joined in the belief that our country’s system of regulatory Safeguards provides a stable framework that that secures our quality of life.

The FLSA was monumental legislation that built America’s middle class and paved the way for a sound economy that benefits all of us. Its passage is a key example of how public protections – in this case, assurances of fair wages and hours – can protect not only individual Americans, but the whole of the American economy. See these links:

Please, take a moment to celebrate with us! When your predecessors passed the FLSA, they enacted a set of sensible safeguards which vastly improved life in America.

We hope that you will take a moment to look through the attached work of our partners. It highlights the difference the FLSA has made, but also points to areas where Americans still need stronger protections. More could be done to ensure that workers are compensated fairly – particularly those who work overtime or who are earning only minimum wage. Workers in the organic food industry, as well as immigrant workers and child workers, deserve a protections from unsafe working conditions.

The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards is spreading the word about the FLSA, and other essential public protections. We hope that you will join us in this effort. If you are interested in receiving more information, please contact Gynnie Robnett at vrobnett@ombwatch.org or 202-234-­8494, or follow us on Twitter (@regsrock) or Facebook.

Robert Weissman
President, Public Citizen
Co-­chair, Coalition for Sensible Safeguards

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TheCoalitionforSensibleSafeguardsisanallianceofconsumer,labor,scientific,research,good government,faith,community,health,environmental,andpublicinterestgroups,aswellasconcerned individuals, joined in the belief that our country’s system of regulatory safeguards provides a stable framework that secures our quality of life and paves the way for a sound economy that benefits us all.